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This report evaluates findings of the Perseus hypermedia project, a digital library of resources for studying the ancient world, especially Greece. Specifically, this evaluation examined Perseus-elated assignments, activities, and methods developed from fall 1993 to spring 1996 at a number of institutions of higher education. It found that Perseus had been used in directed assignments, open-ended assignments, as a translation tool, as the basis for classics "labs," as a library resource, as a lecture/demonstration tool, as a correlate to museum activities, for online exams, and as part of an online telecourse. Evaluation concluded that: (1) Perseus amplifies and augments teaching/learning; (2) Perseus requires substantial physical infrastructure investment; (3) Perseus demands new conceptual infrastructures for teaching/learning; and (4) Perseus is bringing systemic changes to the classics. Individual sections of the report describe Perseus uses at: Ball State University (Indiana), Holy Cross College (Massachusetts), the University of Michigan, Rhodes College (Tennessee), Bates College (Maine), Miami University (Ohio), Skidmore College (New York), Tufts University (Massachusetts), University of Houston (Texas), Illinois Wesleyan University, and Virginia Tech. Also provided is an analysis of the evaluation questionnaire. Four appendices provide the questionnaire, a correlation matrix, statistical tables, and a sample Perseus web site usage summary. (DB)

"Journey Home," an interactive CD-ROM program about Homer's "Odyssey," was produced at North Shore Community College (Massachusetts) to create an innovative method for teaching literature. Based on a prototype developed on an Apple II, the program incorporates video, text, graphics, music, and artwork related to the Odyssey and provides helpful background information on history, mythology, and archaeology. By placing extensive resources at their fingertips, Journey Home provides students with the opportunity to understand and appreciate Homer's poem, as well as discover its influence on art, music, and other literature. Its multimedia format addresses the problem of teaching literature to students with widely varying abilities, literary experience, learning styles, and motivation. Evaluation procedures for the program included surveys of students and instructors, use of control and experimental classes, comparisons of student papers and research, pre- and post-tests of students' knowledge of the Odyssey, exit interviews, and videotaping of classes. The consistent success of Journey Home has proven the effectiveness of using multimedia in the literature classroom. Appendices include a discussion with the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, project descriptions, evaluation sheets, and sample tests and assignments. (YKH)

This paper discusses the problems of interpeting "Oedipus Rex" and argues that morality was not the primary question being raised in this play, nor was Sophocles urging people to humility and piety. Instead, Sophocles was primarily interested in the insufficiency of human knowledge. The gods and their role in destiny, the character and personality of Oedipus, Oedipus' tragic flaw, and the role of guilt in the play are discussed. It is concluded that, in this play, human reason was an exercise in futility, that the universe is ordered and things will be and happen as they will, and that human beings can observe and even help, but not really change anything within that order. (TS)

Confronted with the problems imposed by the stage presentation and interpretation of ancient Greek theatre to contemporary audiences, scholars have developed four major approaches to the presentation of Greek drama over the past 70 years. The first approach, referred to as modificationist or realist, claims that communicating ancient Greek drama to a modern audience requires a total modification of the drama and a realistic presentation of the costumes, language, and even the poetic structure of the play. The adaptationist school of thought is similar in that it believes that the content and the form of the drama must conform to modern social, psychological, moral, and aesthetic values if the presentation is to be relevant to contemporary audiences. In contrast to these two views, the scholasticists rely on a scholarly interpretation based on the historical, philosophical, and literary background of the plays, while the classicists argue that the dramas must be read or presented as archeological performances, maintaining all of their original parts. Scholars do agree that the role of the chorus presents the most serious problem in presentation and that insight into the tradition, culture, history, and philosophy of Greece is essential to a revitalization of ancient Greek theatre. (MAI)

This paper describes a graduate seminar for educational administrators, using works of ancient Greek and Roman literature as bases for the consideration of organization and leadership problems identified in theoretical literature. The seminar was team taught by professors from the Departments of Educational Administration and Classics at the University of Minnesota. The purposes of the seminar were: (1) to provide historical perspective on the problems of leadership and authority; (2) to provide for analysis and discussion "case studies" which could be approached with considerable objectivity by virtue of their distance in time and space; and (3) to introduce humanistic content for its own sake into the training of leaders in a field which is ideally the most humane of professions, education. The subject matter of the seminar consisted of works of ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy, and biography selected to illustrate concepts of organization and administration theory considered pertinent to the educational leader. Each seminar began with a lecture establishing the literary, historical, and theoretical contexts for the ancient material assigned for that day. A general discussion followed. In addition, students were required to make seminar presentations and to write papers. Some examples of topics covered in the course are provided in the paper. For example, the interaction of values and legitimation comes into play in the famous speech of Pericles. Plutarch's "Life of Themistocles" shows another Athenian statesman sagely controlling information to effect a successful alteration of policy at a crucial point in the Persian Wars. By managing the interpretation of oracles and therefore giving his proposals the authority of divine support, Themistocles persuaded his countrymen to abandon the city and risk all in a naval engagement--a strategy that proved successful. Evaluations indicate a high level of student satisfaction with the course. (Author/RM)

Examines philosophical theories produced by two ancient civilizations (Eastern Mediterranean and Chinese) for applications to an applied psychology of work. Includes analysis of Egyptians, Semites, and Greeks, with a special emphasis on Plato. Suggests that many basic elements of vocational psychology were present during the first millennium B.C. (RJM)

In 1989, Prince George's Community College (PGCC) received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a 4-week summer seminar in Greek mythology for humanities faculty. The seminar, entitled "The Nature and Function of Greek Mythology," provided enough financial compensation to free the faculty from summer school teaching, allowing their participation. Week one of the seminar offered a review of modern approaches to Greek mythology, while the lectures, films, and sessions in week two centered on the function of myth in Greek society. Week three, as well as each afternoon of the entire seminar, was set aside for individual research, seminar paper preparation, and consultations with the instructor. In the final week, participants studied the influence of Greek mythology on Western literature and art. Following the seminar, a series of lectures on mythology were organized. The seminar also inspired two subsequent grant-funded activities. In 1990, the Maryland Humanities Council funded nine public lectures entitled "Masks and Myths," featuring scholars, artists, and members of the PGCC faculty. In 1991, the National Endowment for the Humanities funded a statewide summer seminar, entitled "The Greek Experiment," on the PGCC campus which was open to 20 Maryland community college faculty. In 1992, PGCC was approached by the Community College Humanities Association with a proposal to develop a national seminar focusing on the study of ancient Greece. "The Greek Character," offered at Georgetown University during the summer of 1992, was the result. The seminars gave birth to a wealth of additional activities, and generated both intellectual excitement and collegiality on campus. (JMC)